2011 NHL Playoffs: Flyers, Sharks, Canucks and Capitals, Is This "The Year"?

The NHL Playoffs start on Wednesday. This two-month quest will end in mid-June with one franchise celebrating in delight with Lord Stanley's Cup and 15 other franchises going home in disappointment.

In the past 15 or so years, the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils have often been on the winning side of that equation. The Red Wings will be going to the postseason for the 19th consecutive season, but the Devils will miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since in 1996.

Philadelphia Flyers

During that same time, the Philadelphia Flyers have been considered an elite franchise and are arguably the most successful franchise that has failed to win the Stanley Cup during the last two decades.

They have only missed the playoffs once and appeared in the Eastern Conference finals on six occasions. Both of their appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals ended on a sour note.

They were swept in the 1997 finals by none other than the Detroit Red Wings and were sent home in six games last year in their series with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Flyers management has always been able to bring in scoring talent to the City of Brotherly Love.

From the Legion of Doom, drafting Simon Gagne, trading for Keith Primeau, the return of Mark Recchi and the signings of Jeremy Roenick and Peter Forseberg, the Flyers have rarely lacked star power, especially at the center position.

This has been especially true this season with Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Danny Briere. Any one of them could be a first line center for most playoff teams. Each doesn't play center the entire time, but all of them recorded at least 66 points this season playing on different lines. Nine players scored at least 16 goals this season for arguably the deepest Flyers team in years. A direct effect from having three top line–caliber centers.

While their offensive depth is impressive, it's hard to forget about their defenceman, even without the injured future Hall of Famer Chris Pronger.

Chris Pronger's health is major issue heading in to the first round series against the Buffalo Sabres, but the Flyers biggest issue in the playoffs, is and still will be the goaltending situation.

Sergei Bobrovsky's rookie debut would be celebrated in most NHL cities, but nothing short of a Stanley Cup victory is going to satisfy his critics. The franchise has not had a consistent goaltender since the days of Bernie Parent and coincidentally no championships since. The play of this Russian goaltender is the key to the Flyers winning their first title since the presidency of Gerald Ford.

San Jose Sharks

For years the San Jose Shark's strength was their Russian goaltender. Evgeni Nabokov spent 10 years with the San Jose Sharks and helped them become a Stanley Cup contender year in and year out. The Sharks missed the playoffs only once with Nabokov on the roster and advanced to the conference finals twice.

The 2009-2010 season finally seemed like it was the Sharks' year to finally bring a title to the Silicon Valley.

During the season, no team in the league had better first or second scoring lines, after the trade for Dany Heatley.  The Sharks entered the postseason with the best record in the Western Conference. They survived a tight first-round series with the Colorado Avalanche that featured three overtime games and dispatched the Detroit Red Wings in five games.

Their dream season came to an end in a four-game sweep to the Chicago Blackhawks. General Manager Doug Wilson decided to let go of an All-Star caliber goalie, rather than break up his top-notch scoring lines. Nabokov was let go in the offseason, in order to re-sign Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau. Antti Niemi, that same goaltender who beat them in the Western Conference finals, was eventually brought in as a replacement.

San Jose was unable to match their first-place finish in the Western Conference standings for a third consecutive season, but once again enter the postseason as a Stanley Cup contender. Their scoring depth is even better than a year ago, with potential rookie of the year candidate Logan Couture also in the mix now.

Niemi has been more than an adequate replacement for Nabokov, but no one will care about that in Northern California unless he's starting in goal for a Stanley Cup champion for a second consecutive year.

Vancouver Canucks

The 2010-2011 NHL season marked the 40th anniversary for the Vancouver Canucks. They won the Presidents' Trophy for the first time in franchise history and are looking to finally bring home a championship to British Columbia.

A Sedin has won once again won the scoring title and Ryan Kesler has risen to superstar status this season.

They have made the Stanley Cup Finals twice before and have been a consistent postseason participant during the last decade. However during that time, just like their West Coast counterpart in San Jose, they have failed to even make it to the Stanley Cup Finals, let alone win it all.

The Canucks have lost in the second round of the playoffs during four of their last five postseason appearances. This Canucks team is already a memorable one and maybe the best on paper in franchise history. However, only a championship banner is going to separate them from the likes of Pavel Bure and the West Coast Express. 

They may be entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the NHL's best record, but that even doesn't assure them of an automatic trip to the second round.

Washington Capitals

Last year, Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals had the NHL's best record at 121 points and averaged nearly four goals a game.

They then failed to finish off the Montreal Canadians in the first round. They lost the first game, but won the next three to take a 3-1 series lead. Montreal won the next three, which included 2-1 victories in Games 5 and 7.

The Capitals once again enter the postseason with the East's best record, despite looking less formidable than a year ago. They had a 14 point drop in their record and scored 96 fewer goals.

Alex Ovechkin had the lowest goal total of his career and Mike Green has been out of action since February. They now face the Rangers, who took them to a seventh game in the first round in 2009. It seems like the only thing one could argue that has improved from a year ago is their goaltending duo. Sometimes your best team doesn't win the tile. The 1997 Red Wings on the Stanley Cup after seeing a 37-point drop in their regular season record.

The Capitals are in the postseason for a fourth consecutive year and experience is always important in the Stanley Cup playoffs. They have become a cup contender under the reign of Bruce Boudreau.

While Capitals fans have had disappointing exits in the last two postseasons, they have not suffered nearly as much as the fans in Vancouver or San Jose in recent years. It will be a at least a few more seasons before Alex Ovechkin and his crew reach the current status of Joe Thornton and the Sedin Twins, championship contenders who have failed to finish the deal.

A championship window for a franchise varies. The Buffalo Sabres had a two-year championship window with Chris Drury and Daniel Briere (before they even knew it), but lost both times in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Ottawa Senators had a much longer championship window in the late 90s and 2000s. They made the playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons and posted four consecutive 100-plus point seasons from 2003-2007. Those Senators had youth, star power and depth, three important factors for having a long-term championship window.

The Senators were close to winning it all on several occasions, but could never close the deal. They lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2003 and lasted only five games in the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.

In 2009, Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks fell to the Anaheim Ducks in five games and never led the series.

The Ottawa Senators are a far cry from what they were five years ago. Aging players and the salary cap restrictions have been huge factors in their downfall. They are a perfect example of how even the longest windows of opportunity will close eventually.

There's a very good chance that the Stanley Cup will reside in Philadelphia, Vancouver, San Jose, or Washington D.C. during the 2011-2012 season. They are the top four seeds in the playoffs and many will pick one of them to win it all.

It's guaranteed that at least three of those cities will once again be left pondering what went wrong and how much longer their championship drought will continue.